Fulfil election promises or face protests across Karnataka: Nalin Kateel

Mangaluru: The BJP will hold statewide agitations if the Congress government in Karnataka fails to fulfil its five guarantees to the people, party state president Nalin Kumar Kateel said on Saturday.

Addressing reporters here, Kateel said the guarantees should be implemented within a month and warned that the government will face a series of protests if there is any delay in this regard.

He said government officials are bearing the brunt of people’s fury who refuse to pay electricity bills and other charges citing the Congress promises.

Kateel, also Dakshina Kannada MP, alleged that the new dispensation is practising revenge politics and booking cases against BJP MLAs and party workers. Cases have been booked against MLAs Harish Poonja and C N Ashwath Narayan, while Congress workers are indulging in violence, he added.

The BJP state chief dared the Congress to probe the charges made by them against the previous BJP government. The government should also allow an impartial probe into the Lokayukta cases against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said.

On comments by some Congress leaders about banning the RSS, Kateel said even former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Narasimha Rao who tried to ban the organisation were not successful due to intervention of courts.

He also said the BJP government had appointed slain party activist Praveen Nettaru’s wife as a government employee on contract basis and on compassionate grounds. However, the new Congress government has removed her from service.

Kateel urged the Chief Minister to allow her to continue in service on humanitarian grounds.

BJP MLAs from Dakshina Kannada district Vedavyas Kamath, Bharath Shetty, Harish Poonja, Umanath Kotian, Rajesh Naik. Bhagirathi Muruliya and MLC Prathap Simha Nayak were present at the press meet.